Recently my cat was having frequent vet visits due to illness and eventually the costs stacked up after already taking its toll on my savings. In order to pay the last bill ($730) the vet showed us the option to open an account for the All Pet Card. I haven’t activated the card but I recently got it in the mail. There’s no interest if I pay the balance within 6 months (which I plan on doing) but recently I figured why didn’t I just open an actual credit card to do this. What should my best course of action be? If I hadn’t done this I would’ve much rather gotten the Chase freedom unlimited card.
Thanks in advance any advice is appreciated
Regret getting this card, is it too late to go back?
byu/Microstutter inpersonalfinance
Posted by Microstutter
11 Comments
If you’ve already gotten the card you’ve already gotten approved
You can just use it for the pet costs and get a real credit card too
I could be wrong but if you can get 6 months no interest for the $730 then that would be better than getting a credit card and paying the $730 off in six months due to the interest from the card.
Keep the card if it provides any visible benefit over a Chase card (eg better rewards for pet expenses). You can get the Chase card too — it’s not an exclusive or decision.
I guess it depends on how you handle credit card debt.
Many cards don’t have zero interest or may not be applicable to your situation if you read the fine print.
If you have any amounts that aren’t paid in full each month most cards start interest accruing with every new purchase. I pay my cards off every month so I never have any interest.
This card offers you the ability to charge the card and keep some savings for other things and no interest if you pay off in six months.
Not sure what the downside would be.
Pay this off in 5 months, not 6, or you’ll be sorry. Trust.
Just open the Chase Freedom, nothing wrong with having multiple cards.
I have a couple store cards that I used to purchase furniture for a new house at 0% for 12 months. Paid them off without interest, and the accounts still exist but I don’t use them. If the card is already active then it exists in your name. Just pay it off in < 6 months and stick it in your sock drawer.
If you really don’t want it where isn’t too much harm in calling and closing the account, besides a tiny dip in your credit score. But I don’t see too much harm in keeping it and also applying for the chase card. Having more cards and paying them off on time would improve your score more significantly anyway.
If you’re confident you can pay the $730 within the 6-month no-interest window, the All Pet Card is fine for now since it’s already set up. Opening a new credit card now wouldn’t change that balance, and applying for a new card could temporarily ding your credit. Going forward, for unexpected expenses, a regular credit card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited is better because it builds credit, earns rewards, and gives more flexibility. So for this bill, stick with the All Pet Card, but plan to use a standard credit card for future expenses.
People have mostly covered what to do but I wanted to let you know that sometimes vet offices have arrangements for special promotional financing for these cards beyond what you’d get by opening a regular card. I opened a Care Credit card for a similar reason and our vet offered interest free financing for 6 months *any time* you used the card at their office (above a certain amount I think, buying $40 prescription food doesn’t count). Whereas with a normal card you’d have to open a new one every time to get a similar financing plan.
Might not be the case for the card you opened/your vet, but it’s probably worth checking before you close it, especially if your pet might need additional procedures moving forward.
Did you put a balance on the All Pet Card/account? Or did you pay it with an existing bank/credit card? If it’s on the All Pets account read the details very carefully. The interest may spike to the moon if you have a balance after the promo period.